Shimmering ribbons of light,
Dancing in the velvet night.
Aurora borealis, mystical and bright,
A cosmic spectacle, a breathtaking sight.
A palette of colors, so surreal,
Green, pink, and purple, they reveal
A celestial dance, so pure and free,
A dazzling display for all to see.
A moment in time, a celestial symphony,
Aurora borealis, a cosmic melody,
A wonder of nature, a celestial show,
Aurora borealis, a sight to beholdJessica Ganji March 2023
I’ve already covered the first steps of creating the mothers in a previous post but it is important to remember that they are the foundation of any chart which is cast. We’re going to cover what the figures represent in the context of the reading, their position within a shield chart and briefly what each position of the shield chart represents.
The Mothers represent the cause of the answer which will be indicated by the Judge. They are laid out from right to left, with the first mother being positioned within the first house, the second mother being placed in the second house and so on.
| First Mother | First House | Fire |
| Second Mother | Second House | Air |
| Third Mother | Third House | Water |
| Fourth Mother | Fourth House | Earth |
The Daughters represent the effect of the answer. These figures are generated by transposing each line of the Mothers to create new geomantic figures. The first lines of the Mothers are used to establish the First Daughter. The second lines of the Mothers are used to establish the Second Daughter and so on. The Daughters are also laid out from right to left into the left of the mothers.
| First Daughter | Fifth House | Fire |
| Second Daughter | Sixth House | Air |
| Third Daughter | Seventh House | Water |
| Fourth Daughter | Eighth House | Earth |
The Nieces represent the summary of the cause and effect of the answer. The nieces are generated by adding each line of the proceeding pair together in order to create a new figure. The total is always simplified into odd and even results. An odd result gives a single drop whilst an even result gives two. This process results in four new figures, again added to the shield chart from right to left, starting with the first niece, on the line below the Mothers and Daughters.
| First Niece | Ninth House | Fire |
| Second Niece | Tenth House | Air |
| Third Niece | Eleventh House | Water |
| Fourth Niece | Twelfth House | Earth |
Once the Mothers, Daughters and nieces are derived they can be transposed on to a true House Chart is one is to be used, but in the case of the shield chart the next step is to derive the figures of the Court.
The Witnesses can be taken to have two meanings depending on the nature of the question asked. If the questions contains two parties, be that the querent and another person or the querent and an institution, the witnesses represent the view of the querent and other party as being read from right to left.
On the other hand, where the question relates more to a matter associated with a linear progression the right witness represents how the outcome indicated by the answer will begin and the left witness becomes how it will end.
The Witnesses are derived by adding the Nieces together. The first and second Niece combine to create the right Witness. The third and fourth Niece combine to create the left Witness.
The Judge represents a summary of the entire reading. For some it is the answer to the question and therefore the end of the casting of the Shield Chart, however whilst it represents the answer it doesn’t provide a context for the effect that the answer will have.
The Judge is derived by adding the right and left Witnesses together.
The Sentence represents the effect of the Judgment upon the querent (as represented by the figure in the First House.
Voila – you have cast a Shield Chart.
Next we’ll break down a little bit more what the Shield Chart is and how to validate the results to ensure that you have all that addition and transposition in order.
The fires are lit, my lover, and the hills are flickering with little points of light.
The sun is set, and deep within the rills the seeds of stars are littering the night.
The smoke is rising, lover, rising high in winding spires of ribbons in the air and in the rivers where the willows cry and on the leys the ancient druids dare to walk, the chalk is glowing.
I know you will never leap the Beltane fires with me or rise on one May morning in the dew beside me, spellbound by my poetry or so it seems.
But oh, my lover, how the blossom burns, so brightly on the bough
This month at Ravens Rest Moot we were covering the topic of what paganism is and what paganism means to us as members. We started out by defining what Paganism in the broadest understanding – that is an umbrella term for spiritual beliefs and practices which do not confirm to the societal normative religion. Today this would refer to Christianity and similar Abrahamic faiths but the term “pagan” was first used in relation to people within the Roman Empire who held on to their native beliefs instead of engaging in the Roman civic religion, or later Christianity.
Paganism is also understood as being a polytheistic practice, usually based reconstructing the religious worship of pantheons of the past (Greek, Roman, Norse etc.) and is sometimes also applied to living and continuously practiced traditions. This inclusion of lived traditions, such as Native American practices, Hinduism and Shinto is done under the colour of them not being Abrahamic but we acknowledged that this was problematic. These traditions are well established, independent and in many cases have been subject to marginalisation and attack by the mainstream and lumping them under the pagan umbrella is just another example of things being done to them rather than them being recognised for what they are.
As a modern umbrella term there are a lot of groups which sit under Paganism. A few examples include;
There are a couple of “trigger words” in that list which may cause upset and confusion in those that are not entirely familiar with them beyond what they read in the news and see in movies. By including them under the “Pagan” umbrella, which is far more understood as meaning “not mainstream and probably a bit of a hippy/goth/history lover type”
One of the things everyone agreed on was that Paganism is closely connected to the natural world. Animism underpins many of the groups within paganism, that is – the attribution of a living soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena. One of our online members shared the following on this point –
[Paganism is a] connection to the natural world and an escape from the soul-destroying thing that is our modern technical society…
We also discussed the life-affirming nature of many pagan paths, and how there was an emphasis on personal responsibility and accountability in the actions we take in this life, rather than having an eye on what effect they may have on the next one.
One of the consequences of this is the fact that there is no central authority, dogma or even place of worship and a sense of freedom in the way that our beliefs are explored and expressed. One of our in person members said –
For me it’s the respect of freedom in practice and worship – whether you worship Gods that are different from someone else’s, or no gods at all, within a temple or other sacred space or in nature – you find that you are generally accepted by the wider community.
As our conversation developed we expanded to talk about the downsides of such freedom and autonomy – aesthetic vs practice and belief. Particularly in our “modern technical society” its very easy to become enamoured with the look and feel of a particular path. Whether they like it cute or edgy we agreed that whilst many people initially come for the aesthetic they largely stay for the community and belief.
By the end of the conversation we agreed that the key features of paganism are that Paganism;
Regardless of the chart being cast, the first step in Geomancy is the Casting of the Mothers.
The Mothers of the foundation of reading, the First Mother represents the querent and all the other figures of the chart are derived from them. It is in the creation of the mother that the intuitive mind first comes into play, because they are obtained through meditation and trance.
Forming the Mothers may be the first step, but the first step of the first step involves formulating your question upon which you will meditation.
Geomancy is a divinatory tool of directness which can cut through any form of uncertainty. Whereas Tarot will answer the question that “should” have been asked, Geomancy answers what was asked. Given this, questions should be direct and to the point. For example, questions like;
“Is this a good time to invest in this venture?”
Or
“Should I go for the new vacancy at work?”
are particularly well formulated for Geomancy.
It is also important to be able to relate the question to one of the 12 houses of astrology. Geomancy is the little sister of astrology, and there is a lot of cross over between the two practices. Being able to understand the question in relation to the house which rules it will help in the process of interpreting the results. In the two above examples, the first relates to fifth and eight houses whilst the second relates to the sixth and tenth.
Once you have your question in mind the next step is to meditate upon it, open to input and influence. It is during this process that the act of casting, or sowing, the points occurs.
Now, the geomancer draws sixteen lines of points, from right to left. Traditionally this would be done on the ground in sand or dirt. The modern practitioner may want to consider a sand tray, chalk board or simply pen and paper.
Whatever the material used it is important that the geomancer doesn’t actively count the points made but should be mindful of how long the individual lines are. It is better to have more than sixteen short lines rather than twelve long ones.
On coming out of the meditative state sixteen lines are grouped in fours (any lines over and above sixteen can be disregarded) and then counted off two by two from right to left. The best way to do this to ensure there are no mistakes is to mark them off in connected pairs with the lines ending in either a single or paired dot. From this the points of the geomantic figures, known as the Mothers, are established and put within the first four houses of the shield chart from right to left.
Other ways to generate the figures using odd or even results include
From here the Daughters, Nieces, Witnesses and Judge are derived, so that will be what we discuss next.
I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
And hooked a berry to a thread;
And when white moths were on the wing,
And moth-like stars were flickering out,
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout.When I had laid it on the floor
I went to blow the fire a-flame,
But something rustled on the floor,
And someone called me by my name:
It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossom in her hair
Who called me by my name and ran
And faded through the brightening air.Though I am old with wandering
by W. B. Yeats
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone,
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done,
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.
The geomantic figure is the foundation and focus of the geomantic reading. Each figure has its own form and interpretation but these are based on their anatomy.
Each figure consists of four rows of dots made up of either one or two dots. The four rows, from top to bottom are known as the head, neck, body and feet and are in turn associated with the four classical elements according to their directionality and energy. The head is associated with fire, the neck with air, the body with water and the feet with earth. These elemental associations are seen as being active or passive depending on how many dots in the row. One dot is seen as being active and present whereas two dots are seen as passive and absent.
There are sixteen possible geomantic figures that can be created within Geomancy, each having their individual interpretation based on their structure and active/passive energies. They are best considered in pairs of like, but inverse meanings. For example Acquisitio looks like a money bag upright and secure, comprised of an active earth and air element indicating financial (earth) creativity (air). On the other hand, Amisso is the money bag which has been spilt and it is fire and water that are active, indicating money to burn or flowing through your fingers like water.
Each figure is classified as being stable or mobile, referring to the nature of the effect of condition that they bring about. A stable figure, such as Fortuna Major, brings about long lasting good fortune engendered by natural talent whereas Fortuna Minor is a short benefit facilitated by others.
| Stable Figures | Mobile Figures |
| Populus, Carcer, Albus, Puella, Fortuna Maior, Acquisitio, Tristitia, Caput Draconis | Via, Coniunctio, Rubeus, Puer, Fortuna Minor, Amissio, Laetitia, Cauda Draconis |
Another way to view this is in terms of energies entering and exiting, indicated by the direction of the points, either pointing towards (downwards) or away from (upwards) from the viewer. Entering figures are stable in nature whereas existing figures are mobile in quality. This classification can not be separated out into two clear categories such as Populus, Via, Carcer and Conjunctio. These have no clear directionality so can be considered as being neutral and balanced.
| Entering | Exiting | Both |
| Acquisitio, Albus, Puella, Tristitia, Caput Draconis, Fortuna Major | Laetitia, Cauda Draconis, Amissio, Fortuna Minor, Rubeus, Puer | Populus, Via, Carcer, Conjunctio |
We will cover how we create the figures in the next post but for now, the geomantic figures are;
Hush, can you hear it?
© May Fenn
The rustling in the grass,
Bringing you the welcome news that
Winter’s day is past.
Soft, can you feel it?
The warm caressing breeze,
Telling you the sticky buds
Are bursting on the trees.
Look, can you see them?
The primrose in the lane.
Now you must believe it –
Spring is here again.
No, this isn’t a post about earth energies and earth magic – this is the start of a series of posts looking at an ancient form of divination.
Geomancy, or Geomanteia (γεωμαντεία), is a Hellenic word consisting of two words, gaia=earth and manteia=divination therefore it is divination by the earth. Geomancy was a common form of divination from 1200 CE all the way to the 17th Century, with Geomancy being as ubiquitous as astrology, even being referred to as the little sister of astrology.
I personally like the the Arabic term for this form of divination because it gives a better understanding of why it is considered to be “divination by the earth”. ‛Ilm al-raml translates to the “science of the sand”, and it was in the sand and dirt that the first geomancers obtained the first figures of a reading through trance.
When Arabic texts began to flow into the west through the Middle Ages and Renaissance and were translated into Latin the practice spread amongst the magicians of the time, being adapted and transformed for the western world incorporating dice and coins as ways in which figures were figured.
As time marched on Geomancy was used alongside astrology and palmistry as common methods of divination so it is not surprising that when there was a revival of interest in the magical arts and magical text there was a revived interest in Geomancy. As with many things the Golden Dawn revived and refined Geomancy for their modern brotherhood, adapting the method of reading the results and calculating figures.
And so we come to today…
Geomancy is a divinatory practice based in trance and logic, which makes geomancy both easy to learn but difficult to master. Working with a binary system of odd and even to derive the sixteen figures, geomancy it is very good at producing very direct answers to practical and specific questions. The sixteen figures are constructed of dots and have shapes which reflect the object or characteristics which they are associated with. From the creation of four figures, known as the Mothers, the rest of the reading is derived and cast into the Shield Chart.
The mastery comes with the reading, be that of the Court alone, the Shield in full or by casting the reading into the House Chart. It also lies in being able to carry the trance of divination used in the creation of the Mothers through the derivation of the remaining figures to the reading of them.
Whilst I can’t claim any form of mastery this is a form of divination that I personally enjoy and prefer to employ using dice, but anything that can create that binary response can be used.
One of the reasons that I like Geomancy is its simplicity in output is sufficient to trigger the intuitive mind so that texture and depth can be added to a reading. Whilst there are many many different sources which can create a conflicting landscape it allows someone like me to distill a shape into a collection of key words and associations which can then be elaborated upon intuitively.
Of course, that was preceded by lots of reading and learning from the masters of the art directly or indirectly… and given I learn better in my own time the latter was more often the case. I am particularly grateful for the work of Digital Ambler, not only for his books and posts on the topic but also the fact that he has kindly made the Geomancy in the Reign of the Lady of Crowns video series freely available. I also relied upon;
So, I’ll begin sharing the fruits of my journey into Geomancy and do my bit to helping to revive this logically intuitive form of divination.
Music thrums deep in the dark of the night,
beats fall like rain drops on tanned hide,
The witches, they gather and raise up the cry as the heavens sink down to the earth.
Slick shining skin writhes under the stars, veneration before the unnamed.
Lit by fire flames
Taboo genstures
Forbidden words
Homage to throw off the chains.By Victoria Newton
The witches, they gather!
The cry of the meak, as they see us cavort in the flames.
No more to be bound, no obeisance to man, as we reach for the stars in his name.
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